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How to Tell a Hen From a Jake

By Cynthia Measom; Updated April 24, 2017

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In terms of turkeys, a "hen" is a mature female and a "jake" is a young male. The immature jake does not exhibit many of the characteristics of a mature male or "tom," but rather resembles a hen, so it's helpful to be able to distinguish between a hen and a jake, especially when hunting wild turkey. Depending on where you hunt, it may be illegal to kill turkey hens, so knowing the difference between a mature female turkey and a young male is crucial.

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Look at the breast feathers of the turkey. A male turkey, including a jake, will have black tips on its breast feathers. A hen will have brown tips.

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Inspect the leg length from where the leg starts at the body to the middle of the top of the foot at the base of the toes. The leg length of a jake will be longer than the leg length of a hen.

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About the Author

Based in Texas, Cynthia Measom has been writing various parenting, business and finance and education articles since 2011. Her articles have appeared on websites such as The Bump and Motley Fool. Measom received a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Texas at Austin.